Review | Book Riot Book Mail | April 2017

Book Riot’s Book Mail costs $60, comes every three months or so, and includes both books and bookish goodies. I should state here that I am a Book Riot contributor. That said, they are not my employer and the fact that I write some things for them won’t affect my honest appraisal of this box – I promise!

The April 2017 Book Mail box came with two volumes of short stories. First up was The Miniature Wifeand Other Stories by Manual Gonzales, author of The Regional Office is Under Attack!which I haven’t read but have heard lots and lots of good things about. According to the hand-out thing Book Riot sent, in this volume “the mundane becomes magical and strange in this unforgettable collection from an utterly original voice. We’ll see, I suppose! I will of course review this once I’ve read it.

This book also came with a bonus item, which was a recipe for Miniature Pecan Pie. Essentially, it’s what looks like a good recipe for a pecan pie and then there are instructions at the bottom to miniaturize said pie in your Miniaturizing Machine. It’s funny, see?

The second book was American Housewife: Storiesby Helen Ellis. I’ve never heard of her but according to the hand-out thing, these stories are “often hilariously profane,” which seems like a pro, right?

There’s also a bonus item for this book, which is a letter press postcard from Helen Ellis, which includes a quote from the book: “I am the kind of woman who packs light, but carries a huge book.” Yes, yes indeed I am.

Now on to the bookish goodies! First up is the game Papercuts, which is described on its box as ” a party game for the rude and well-read.” Well! I am both of those things! As is always the case with literary-themed board games (I own quite a few of them!), no one wants to play this with me, so I’m gonna need y’all to stop by Iowa City for a night, thanks.

Looking at this game, it seems to essentially be just like Cards Against Humanity except with literary things. The example question on the box is, “What is the one thing Stephen King is truly afraid of?” and the example answer is, “Atticus Finch before he was racist.” The box notes that this is a game for those 16+, it requires four players and can accommodate up to eight, and it includes 75 question and 175 answer cards plus instructions (imagine that!).

Finally, we have this library card and stamp enamel pin set from Out of Print. I’m getting quite the collection of bookish pins on my purse thanks to book subscription boxes, but this one is especially appreciated because it’s not the standard round pin. Variety, I love it!

Granted, I haven’t read the books but the thoughtful curation and fantastic bookish goods are A+ from my perspective. The value is high too – Papercuts runs you $25 and the pins run $18, which almost pays for the box without even considering the cost of the books.

I’ll cover the diversity when I review these books, which should be coming up in the next week or so, but for now I will say that we have one book by an author of color and one book by a woman. A+!